


Understaffed

by catisacat



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 11:53:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4099963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catisacat/pseuds/catisacat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dorian's noticed something unusual about Saar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Understaffed

Dorian cautiously creaked open the door to the Inquisitor’s chambers.

He had become accustomed to Saar approaching him at Skyhold, not the other way around. However, he had some questions of his own today.

It still felt weird to search him out, especially for non-carnal reasons.

He knew that given Saar was an escaped Saarebas that his knowledge of magic was, at best, tenuous but what he’d noticed was bizarre to say the least.

Despite waving his staff around with the rest of the mages, the Inquisitor wasn’t actually using it. Probably couldn’t use it. He opted instead to surreptitiously shoot lightning from his hands when he wasn’t calling it from the sky.

“Saar?” he said as he approached the top of the stairs, before he was blindsided by a wall of grey muscles smothering him in a hug. He’d never understand how someone so bulky could move that fast.

“Dorian! I was just about to come see you,” he grinned down at him before separating the smaller mage from the ground.

One thing Dorian never would have expected to be accustomed to was being carried around by a Qunari but he was smiling and leaning against him nonetheless, “Oh I know, all us big bad magisters can read minds you know. Terrifying.”

Saar put him back down out on the balcony where he’d set up a table with a bottle of wine and two glasses, “I was just wanted to know if you wanted to join me up here. Somehow I think we’ve so far managed to avoid getting drunk and staring at a sunset together.”

“A travesty, to be sure,” Dorian pulled the smaller of the two chairs closer to the table and sat down, “But I’m afraid I must commandeer the topic of conversation, at least for a bit.”

Saar looked mildly concerned as he dragged over the larger, heavier chair, “Is something wrong?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say wrong. At least not in an immediate concern type of way. Like that,” he gestured to the hole in the sky looming over them.

“I assumed as much, I’d like to think you’d be considerably less nonchalant about something dangerous.”

Dorian arched his fingers trying to think of a way to approach this without insulting the Inquisitor’s otherwise acceptable intelligence, “It’s just... something I’ve noticed about you.”

“Is it the fact I’m huge and grey? That always stands out to people,” Saar said, trying not to laugh at his own bad joke as he curled a clawed hand around his glass to drink.

Dorian sighed but smiled regardless, “I’d say I’ve more than just noticed that part.”  
“Then what is it?”

“Well I just...,” Dorian gestured aimlessly for a second before deciding a more direct approach would at least keep it from getting more awkward, “You don’t know how to use a staff, do you?”

Saar was silent for a second, staring at his glass of wine, “Well... someone was going to figure it out eventually. Honestly? I’m surprised I’ve gotten away with it for this long. But standing far away from the other mages and flailing a stick can only get you so far, I suppose.”

“And I just can’t keep my eyes off you, of course,” Dorian quipped, glad that the Qunari didn’t seem insulted.

“Naturally, and you’ve a vested interest in me not dying as well.”

“I just want to know... why though? It’s not like we’re going to mock you over not using a staff. Frankly, they’d probably just be impressed,” he took a drink, looking at Saar over the glass.

“I know a lot of you little squishy people find an untrained mage terrifying. You personally may not find it scary but... well right after I met Cassandra I offhandedly mentioned not needing a staff and she looked at me like I’d told her I blow up orphanages for fun.”

“What did you do before? You act like this is a new issue.”

“Well frankly, it is. Things were different before... this, “ he said, looking disdainfully at the mark on his hand, “I just wandered Thedas and helped people that needed help. When you’re guarding an Elven alienage from a human street gang both sides don’t exactly care that you aren’t using a staff.”

Dorian nodded, “I imagine not staying in one place for long helped as well.”

“Yes, I barely had a name to these people.”

“Do you... prefer that?”

“I’m not really sure, if I’m being really honest. In some ways yes, in other ways no. I’d have to really think about it,” Saar stared out at the sky while saying this, knowing that he already knew the answer. That was a conversation for another day.

The two sat in silence for a second, staring at the nearly gone sunset before Dorian spoke up again.

“I could teach you, you know. How to use a staff I mean. I don’t mind and it seems like you’d like to keep up the appearance of a typical mage. I’ll keep it in the strictest of confidences. We could find a quiet place out in the mountains to practice, just the two of us. Maybe have a picnic afterwards.”

Saar nodded, “If you’ve noticed others will too, in time. Vivienne’s started paying more attention to what I’m wearing and well. If she decides to make sure it looks good in battle as well...”

“It’s a date then, but do you have any other... concerns about-”

“I’m not going to suddenly turn into a demon if that’s what you’re thinking. That’s a little squishy mage problem. Have you ever heard of a Saarebas turning into abomination? We’re not an easy people to tempt.”

“So you’ve already dealt with that personally, I assume?”

“Yeah, just told it to fuck off,” he laughed, remembering the shock on the Desire Demon’s face at his abrupt answer, “It’s really not hard for us. The Qunari are nothing if not uncompromising. Trying to change our minds is like a nug trying to push a boulder up a hill.”

“Good to know, we’ll start tomorrow then?”

“Sure.”


End file.
